It’s neither the cheapest nor the easiest to carry, but the best digital camera is Panasonic Lumix S1. The competition is certainly very stiff, but the S1 delivers an unbeatable combination of great low light performance from its 24-megapixel full-frame sensor and extreme high-resolution imaging thanks to it’s 96-megapixel multi-shot mode. It also has one of the best control layouts we’ve ever seen on a camera, mirrorless or otherwise, and is built to hold up to the demands of professional wear and tear.
There are more choices in cameras than ever before, and there is no shortage of great ones. Here are a few of our favorites, from compact point-and-shoots to professional DSLRs.
The best digital camera overall: Panasonic Lumix S1
Why you should buy this: Impressive image quality, robust design, and functional controls
Who’s it for: Professionals, landscape photographers, and serious photo enthusiasts
Why we choose the Panasonic S1:
The Panasonic Lumix S1 isn’t exactly what we expected from a mirrorless camera — but in many ways, it exceeds expectations enough to be the most impressive model on the market. Besides the excellent image quality coming from the full-frame 24-megapixel sensor, a 96-megapixel high-resolution mode lets you capture even more detail when using a tripod. We were very impressed with the out-of-camera JPEG image quality, which produces excellent color and contrast, while the RAW images offer plenty of flexibility and strong high-ISO performance.
The S1 uses contrast detection autofocus instead of the usually faster phase detection, but Panasonic narrowed the gap thanks to its proprietary Depth From Defocus technology. Autofocus tracking and subject recognition are very good, even in low light, and while speed is often indistinguishable from competing phase-detection systems, we did notice some occasional misses that cropped up seemingly at random. Still, the good outweighs the bad.
A comfortable user interface seals the S1’s position atop this list. The control scheme doesn’t skimp on anything and is highly customizable, offering more direct access control than mirrorless cameras from other brands. It also offers both SD and XQD card slots, with support for even faster CFExpress cards coming in the future. The body is fully weather sealed and houses one of the best electronic viewfinders we’ve seen, with 5.7 million pixels of resolution and a refresh rate of 120 frames per second.
On the downside, all of this makes the camera quite heavy. At about 2.25 pounds, it weighs more than some full-frame DSLRs. The Lumix S1 may not be the best camera for travel photography because of that, but the Lumix S1 is otherwise a tremendous achievement that leaves very little to be desired.
The best digital camera for kids: Olympus Tough TG-6
Why should you buy this: Water, dust, and shock-proof
Who’s it for: Parents, adventurers, and anyone who needs a sturdy point-and-shoot.
Why we picked the Olympus Stylus Tough TG-6:
While Olympus can’t officially call the Tough TG-6 kid-proof, it is waterproof to a depth of 50 feet, can survive a drop from 7 feet, and will even resist 200 pounds of pressure. Your child can drop it in the bath, throw it down the stairs, or run it over with their Tonka truck and the TG-6 will keep ticking. This isn’t built to be a kid’s camera, but it will get the job done.
The TG-6 is about as simple as point-and-shoots get, but it does have some powerful and fun features hidden beneath the surface should you want to use it yourself. The 25-100mm lens offers a decent zoom range and a truly stunning macro mode for detailed close-ups. The light-painting mode is great for camping trips and offers entertainment for creative youngsters armed with flashlights. The camera can even shoot in RAW — although, its small sensor certainly won’t keep up with the image quality from the other cameras on this list. For travel and vacations, it features built-in GPS with geotagging and location logging abilities that can create a map of your adventure viewable in the Olympus Image Track app.
Sure, most smartphones have some degree of weatherproofing these days, and with a decent case they can even survive a good tumble, but why risk damaging your phone when cameras like the TG-6 are around?
Best digital camera for beginners: Sony A6100
Why should you buy this: A beginner-friendly camera with a beginner-friendly price tag that doesn’t skimp on features.
Who’s it for: First-time buyers jumping into mirrorless cameras
Why we picked the Sony A6100:
Sony’s full-frame mirrorless cameras are excellent — but expensive. The Sony A6100 brings some of the best features from the A7 series into a camera that’s more affordable. It still uses the same Sony E mount as the A7, too, so you can use all of the same lenses if you want to be able to upgrade to a full-frame model down the road.
The A6100 sports a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor that’s smaller than full-frame, helping the camera keep its low profile. While that does mean low light performance won’t match the full-frame Sonys, it still delivers excellent results for most situations.
You also get Sony’s incredible 425-point hybrid autofocus system. Like the latest A7 models, the A6100 includes Sony’s artificial-intelligence-based Real Time Tracking and Real-Time Eye autofocus technologies for recognizing and following subjects. Its especially useful when shooting photos at 11 fps, the A6100’s maximum burst speed. From keeping up with your pets to capturing all the action of your kid’s little league game, the A6100 has it covered.
Beyond still photography, the A6100 is a strong performer for movies, too. It shoots 4K video and gives you a microphone jack if you want to get serious about upping the audio quality.
While the A6100 is missing out on extras like image stabilization, thecamera wraps several big features into an affordable, compact camera. I’m not the biggest fan of Sony’s menu system, but the A6100’s touchscreen makes it easier to use and lends the camera a smartphone-esque feel, making it approachable to first-time camera buyers.
The best point-and-shoot camera: Sony RX100 VII
Why should you buy this: Impressive performance and image quality.
Who’s it for: Photo enthusiasts and pros on the go.
Why we picked the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VII:
Time and time again, a Sony RX100 camera takes our top pick for best point-and-shoot. The seventh generation of Sony’s revolutionary point-and-shoot improves on an already excellent recipe by adding a no-blackout viewfinder, faster autofocus, and a 3.5mm microphone port. That’s mixed in with a list of don’t-fix-what-isn’t-broken features that carry over from the RX100 VI..
The “stacked” 20-megapixel, 1-inch-type sensor returns, offering blazing fast performance up to 20 frames per second in continuous mode, identical to Sony’s flagship A9 mirrorless camera. While that’s four frames slower than the sixth generation, it allows for the no-blackout viewfinder, so you follow the action in real time and can keep moving subjects in the frame more easily. Autofocus is even faster than the RX100 VI, taking just 0.02 seconds in ideal conditions.
Being a Sony, the RX100 VII also includes a full complement of video features. It can shoot 4K video at 30 fps, 1080p at up to 120 fps, and super-slow-motion at 240, 480, and even 960 fps. It also features Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) for capturing the maximum dynamic range and playing back HDR content on compatible televisions, a feature normally reserved for much higher-end cameras. The compact also includes a 3.5mm audio jack now, a first for the series.
But perhaps best of all is that none of the RX100 VII’s advanced features are thrown in your face. They are there if you go looking for them, but if you want to sit back and enjoy an easy-to-use pocket camera, then you can do that without hassle.
This price point isn’t for everyone, but the RX100 VII is a camera that you can grow into over time. You can also still buy older RX100 models brand new for much less money, and while they can’t match the performance of the mark VI, they still shoot stunning images thanks to very similar sensors. If the improved viewfinder, slightly faster autofocus and mic jack don’t impress you, you can opt for the still great Sony RX100 VI.
The best DSLR camera: Nikon D850
Why should you buy this: 45MP images plus 7fps continuous shooting speed.
Who’s it for: Studio, portrait, landscape, wedding, wildlife, and potentially even sports photographers.
Why we picked the Nikon D850:
Nikon’s D800-series DSLRs have always been good at one thing: Providing ultra-high resolution full-frame sensors. But the D850 takes this recipe and incorporates some exciting new ingredients. And unlike its predecessors, the D850 is not a one-trick pony; it has grown into a full multimedia machine, making it the best DSLR of this generation.
First, it nearly ten more megapixels than the D810, up to 45.7. The sensor is entirely new and backside-illuminated (BSI), just the second such sensor since Sony’s 42MP unit, the A7R Mark II. BSI sensors are more sensitive to light thanks to the circuitry being placed on the backside (hence the name) of the sensor, rather than the front, which is far more common. With a base ISO of 64, it promises a deep well capacity for impressive dynamic range. Anyone who was a fan of the D810 or D800 should feel right at home with the D850.
But that’s not all, because the D850 can also shoot continuously at up to 7 fps with a buffer than can hold 170 12-bit RAW files, or 51 in the higher-quality 14-bit mode. This is already impressive for such a high-resolution sensor, but users can get even more speed if they opt for the MB-D18 vertical battery grip and EN-EL18b battery (also used in the D5), which bumps performance up to 9 fps.
Nikon has also stepped up its video game with the D850, offering 4K recording from the full width of the sensor — the first for a full-frame DSLR.
All of that resolution, speed, and 4K video make for some pretty hefty storage requirements, which is why the Nikon D850 sports both SD and XQD card slots. SD is widely available, but XQD offers the best possible performance with theoretical transfer rates of up to 1,000 megabytes per second (current cards top out around 440MB per second).
How does a digital camera work?
Digital cameras use a lens to focus light onto an electronic imaging sensor. This sensor — the digital equivalent of analog film — is composed of millions of light-sensitive pixels that see either red, green, or blue light. When processed, those pixels combine to create a full-color image. Sensors come in a variety of sizes, and the bigger the sensor, the bigger the lens needs to be. This is why DSLRs and mirrorless cameras can be very large, while point-and-shoots and camera phones are impressively compact. In general, the larger the sensor, the better the image quality — especially in low light settings.
What is a DSLR camera?
DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex and it is an evolution of the film-era SLR. These cameras use interchangeable lenses and mirrors to reflect light from the lens up into an optical viewfinder. When you hold your eye to the viewfinder of a DSLR, you are seeing directly through the lens like a window. As optical viewfinders have no pixels, they offer a very clean and responsive view, but they can’t show you exposure simulation in real time and they don’t work at all for video or live view shooting.
What is a mirrorless cameras?
A mirrorless camera is a type of camera that uses interchangeable lenses. It’s related to the DSLR, but do not confuse the two as the same. Mirrorless cameras do away with a DSLR’s bulky mirror system (hence the name) and instead use electronic viewfinders, or simply no viewfinder at all (as is the case in the Canon EOS M6). This allows for lighter and smaller designs, but professional models can still be somewhat bulky and heavy. Like DSLRs, mirrorless cameras let you attach a variety of lenses and typically use larger sensors than point-and-shoots, which leads to superior image quality.
Are digital cameras allowed on airplanes?
Yes. Digital cameras are, in fact, better to take with you than film cameras, as film over ISO 800 can be damaged by x-ray machines. Most camera accessories are also allowed on planes, including tripods. The major thing to watch out for are the lithium ion batteries that
